Reviews

Call Of Duty

It's worth mentioning that Call of Duty isn't the longest game ever made; in fact, I blazed through the entire single-player campaign in about 7 hours. Gamers often obsess about game lengths, but I think this trend -- sacrificing length in favor of superior content -- is a good one, and you'll hardly feel shortchanged at the end. Almost every one of Call of Duty's 24 missions is a keeper, and I'd rather have polished, densely-packed games like this instead of 12-hour titles artificially padded with uninspired gameplay. Call of Duty manages to remain interesting from beginning to end, and (as I mentioned in the opening) the missions are so much fun to play that I can't wait to run through the entire thing again.

Brothers In Arms

If you're concerned that length might be an issue, it doesn't hurt that Call of Duty features some excellent multiplayer support. At its roots, it's not much different from what was in Allied Assault -- for basic deathmatch, you can carry around one main weapon at a time and choose something new before each respawn (or loot the bodies of other players). However, Infinity Ward (what does that name mean, anyway?) has made a few minor additions that give Call of Duty multiplayer a distinct flavor.

The Killcam, in action.

The first is the new "Killcam," a godsend to anyone who's ever been sniped 6 times in a row and wondered "Where the *@ did that shot come from!?!" After you've been killed in action, the camera briefly replays the last few seconds from your opponent's point of view, so you can see exactly where he's camping out and how he killed you. If nothing else, it's an awesome tool for learning map strategies and will keep snipers on their toes.

Aside from deathmatch and team DM, there's a "Search and Destroy" mode that's essentially a WWII version of Counter-Strike. Played out in a round-based last-man-standing format, one team tries to accomplish an objective (such as blowing up a flak gun), while the other team tries to protect it. "Behind Enemy Lines" is a variation of "Tag," where a majority of Axis hunt down a minority of Allies; upon killing one of the Allies, you become one yourself, and gain bonus points for staying alive. The last mode, called "Retrieval," is best described as one-flag CTF, where one team needs to steal an item and return it to their base.

Most of these modes are enjoyable to play, mainly because the weapons, the basic combat model, the tech and the maps are all solid. All eleven multiplayer maps are variations of single-player missions tweaked for multiplayer and offer a variety of strategies; our team games (we've been testing with Activision, Infinity Ward and other editors for a week) have been a blast. There's nothing here as deep as Return to Castle Wolfenstein or Enemy Territory's class-based objective-based modes, and it's not a Battlefield killer by any stretch, but it's not hard to see both Allied Assault and Counter-Strike fans finding something to enjoy here.

Just another in a series of great moments.

The Final Word

Call of Duty is more than just an action game; it's an intense, finely tuned thrill ride that will have you ducking in your chair and clutching your mouse until your knuckles turn white. It feels as if Infinity Ward looked at Allied Assault, said "we can do this better," and then went out and did it.

WWII shooters are a dime a dozen these days, but the truth is that Call of Duty could be reskinned for the Middle East or a sci-fi epic and it would still be a great game -- the engine is solid, the combat is great and the presentation is top-notch. If you're interested in action games at all, you owe it to yourself to buy a copy of this epic and fire it up the second you can.